tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-53538751387353315602017-06-22T03:49:39.974+01:00The Desegregated CyclistMy sole mode of personal transportation is my bicycle. I've never driven a car and I'm quite proud of it.<br>
This blog is my place to rant and rave about cycling issues as I see them.<br><br>
This is not a place for critics of integrated cycling - that conversation is over - segregation has no future - studies show it is not a safe or useful strategy, nor is it a healthy philosophy.<br><br>Ian Brett Cooperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11144195897514392433noreply@blogger.comBlogger97125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5353875138735331560.post-59124350033339001212016-10-09T13:01:00.001+01:002016-10-09T13:01:45.752+01:00The Hate for No Man's Sky<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-NkF4YSa7WpI/V_oxZcR909I/AAAAAAAAA5U/7WQHhQxlTq0fhIiy08ckVy-dv7AU7yInACLcB/s1600/Jetpack%2BSolves%2BNo%2BMan%2527s%2BSky%2BHate%2BHigh.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-NkF4YSa7WpI/V_oxZcR909I/AAAAAAAAA5U/7WQHhQxlTq0fhIiy08ckVy-dv7AU7yInACLcB/s640/Jetpack%2BSolves%2BNo%2BMan%2527s%2BSky%2BHate%2BHigh.jpg" width="505" /></a></div><br />Ian Brett Cooperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11144195897514392433noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5353875138735331560.post-75495567367621653892016-08-03T16:44:00.002+01:002016-08-04T18:05:27.553+01:00The Desegregated... Gamer?Hi folks.<br /><br />Yeah, I've been away for a while. I just haven't felt motivated to post much about cycling recently. I guess I kind of feel like I've said what I needed to say.<br /><br />I've been wanting to branch out with blogs focusing on other areas of my interest, but until now, I was thinking of doing that in unrelated blogs. But I've decided, for better or worse, to keep it all here.<br /><br />So here's my first game review. I tend to give critical reviews - I see no point in sugar-coating a review - game companies' marketing departments do that job just fine without needing me to add to the hype. So without further ado, here's my critical review of:<br /><div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/qopIFtn0vBo/maxresdefault.jpg" width="320" /></div><br /><a href="http://www.abzugame.com/">"Abzu" is a game of underwater exploration.</a> It is a sort of sequel to <a href="http://thatgamecompany.com/games/journey/">2012's "Journey"</a>, which is an almost abstract game in which the player journeys towards a distant mountain peak. In Abzu, the player is a diver who explores a mysterious underwater world while solving puzzles and bringing health and balance back to the damaged ecosystem. The game was published on 2 August 2016 and is available as a digital download for the PC and the PS4. I played the PS4 version.<br /><br />I liked this game overall: it is not your average video game, as it gives the player a beautiful and generally non-threatening environment in which to play at his own pace. It's a game that many non-gamers might enjoy, as it requires neither fast reflexes nor the puzzle-solving skills of a rocket scientist. Everything happens at a slow pace, and while it has puzzles, they are simple, as the game is meant to be an experience and not a chore. While most modern games are almost like reality filtered through the mind of a deranged crackhead, Abzu is a little like reality filtered through the mellow mind of a guy who has had the best trip imaginable using magic mushrooms.<br /><br />However, I couldn't help comparing Abzu to Journey, because it's scene-for-scene pretty much the same game, and for me, Journey is better, with more compelling ways of telling the story and with elements that show the player how he's progressing in terms of the collectibles. For example, where in Abzu is the in-game feature that tells me which shells I've collected? Journey had a little area, off to the side of one of the environments, which showed which collectibles were missing, so we could search in one area for a missing artifact, without having to look all through the game for it. And where is Abzu's equivalent to Journey's scarf, which told players how well they were doing in terms of gathering resources? These flaws made Abzu just a little frustrating, and that shouldn't happen in a game that is clearly intended to give players a peaceful experience.<br /><br />Also, I couldn't help feeling geographically constrained by Abzu, especially in the later scenes, where you can see interesting areas ripe for exploration, but the game won't let you go there. This was compounded in the ending, which places you in a credits scene which allows no movement beyond the camera's focus. And the credits are unskippable, not just the first time, but every single time we play the game! It's just poor design.</div><div><br /></div><div>Then there are the loading screens. I get that it's graphically intensive, so the loads between in-game stuff was fine. What I don't understand is why it should sometimes take over 30 seconds to load up a menu screen! 30 seconds to transition to the meditation menu screen, which is basically a screen with 12 static selectable images on it - what's up with that? Whereas Journey was 100% smooth from beginning to end, Abzu is broken up into chapters and menus that plunge the player into seemingly endless black loading screen after endless black loading screen. I wouldn't mind if the developers had given me something pretty to look at while the game is loading, but they haven't.</div><div><br /></div><div>Finally, the lack of multiplayer definitely hurts the game in comparison with Journey. I see no reason why this game couldn't have a similar multiplayer mechanism.<br /><br />But for all its flaws, I still enjoyed the game. I even played through it a second time, and a third to get all the trophies. I'm even planning on doing a fourth playthrough to concentrate on finding all the wall paintings from the ancient civilization, to see if I can piece together the story of how, and for what purpose, the vast machines (the game's antagonists) were built.</div><div><br /></div><div>I loved Journey - it is an A+ in my book, whereas Abzu gets a B+. It's basically Journey underwater with better graphics, but I feel it's been stripped of many of the things I found most fun in the earlier game, while some design decisions are questionable at best.﻿ My verdict: by all means buy it, but be aware that it has some flaws.</div>Ian Brett Cooperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11144195897514392433noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5353875138735331560.post-71453120308849799692015-01-10T00:21:00.004+00:002015-01-10T09:23:17.666+00:00Bishop charged with manslaughter in death of cyclist Thomas Palermo<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/79975000/jpg/_79975028_79973685.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/79975000/jpg/_79975028_79973685.jpg" height="179" width="320" /></a></div><div class="trb_article_title_text" itemprop="headline"></div><div class="trb_article_title_text" itemprop="headline"><br /></div><div class="trb_article_title_text" itemprop="headline"><a href="http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/baltimore-city/north-baltimore/bs-md-ci-palermo-announcement-20150109-story.html#page=1">http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/baltimore-city/north-baltimore/bs-md-ci-palermo-announcement-20150109-story.html#page=1</a></div><div class="trb_article_title_text" itemprop="headline"><br /></div><div class="trb_article_title_text" itemprop="headline">So while Episcopal Bishop Heather Cook was driving drunk and texting, she killed Tom Palermo, a cyclist who was in a bike lane, then she left the scene of the accident and drove home. At least this time the offender has been charged - usually they get off with a warning. Now we just have to wait around 18 months to see her get a 6 month suspended sentence and community service.<br /><br />From the reports I've read, it seems it took the police at least an hour to give her a breathalyzer test, so the fact that she was nearly three times the legal limit at that point indicates that she was very drunk when she hit and killed Tom Palermo.<br /><br />The thing I've found most interesting about this story is that, as the story has played out in the media, I actually haven't seen many comments urging cyclists to stay off the road. Instead, I've seen a lot of misogyny, anti-episcopal rhetoric and homophobia (she is rumored to be gay). I guess all dead cyclists need to get fair treatment is for their killers to be from "outgroups" too.</div>Ian Brett Cooperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11144195897514392433noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5353875138735331560.post-6675400993300150782014-09-30T15:22:00.001+01:002014-09-30T15:45:16.119+01:00"Victorinox" Delémont Evolution S17<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-nbxqjpliRDU/VCqy2zqtXzI/AAAAAAAAAcY/LTi5Cz_gY48/s1600/Victorinox%2BDel%C3%A9mont%2BEvolution%2BS17%2Bsmall.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-nbxqjpliRDU/VCqy2zqtXzI/AAAAAAAAAcY/LTi5Cz_gY48/s1600/Victorinox%2BDel%C3%A9mont%2BEvolution%2BS17%2Bsmall.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div><br />This is my "everyday carry" Swiss Army knife - it has the Victorinox logo, but in most respects it's a Wenger knife.<br /><br />I love lost causes, and this is my latest.<br /><br />I've been using Swiss Army knives for over 30 years - I've used both Victorinox and Wenger knives, but I have a soft spot for Wenger - they always seemed like they were willing to change and innovate, whereas Victorinox seemed staid and monolithic. Still, most of the time I bought Victorinox knives, probably because their marketing worked on me.<br /><br />I hadn't been keeping up with developments in the world of the Swiss Army knife (there's no real need to because these knives are made tough and don't need replacing very often), so it was only recently that I found out that Swiss Army knife manufacturer Wenger is now effectively extinct. After Victorinox bought the smaller company in 2005, they promised that Wenger would be kept intact ("that's great," I naively thought - "maybe co-operation will improve both brands"), but as of January 2013 that is no longer the case. All that's left of the knife making part of Wenger are some of their knives, which have been rebranded and are now being sold under the Victorinox name. In my view, a classic case of a better company being overwhelmed by a more regressive but bigger company's ability to fund more aggressive marketing.<br /><br />Yay capitalism!<br /><br />So the knife in the image may have a Victorinox logo, but to me, that's always going to be a Wenger knife: the ergonomic handle, the main blade, the cap lifter, the corkscrew, the scissors, the saw and the nail file were all designed by Wenger. Victorinox have added their own can opener (which is definitely not an improvement - Wenger's was less intuitive but it opened cans faster). On the bright side, Victorinox also added their own awl, toothpick and tweezers, all of which are admittedly improvements, and which is why I use this knife rather than hunting around on eBay for a "real" Wenger.<br /><br />I guess I should be happy - after all, the result has kinda given us the best of both worlds (albeit in a two steps forward one step back kind of way), but I just wish we could have gotten here without hardworking people having to lose their jobs, and without a beloved brand name going the way of the Dodo.Ian Brett Cooperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11144195897514392433noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5353875138735331560.post-16616419762811789472014-08-24T11:30:00.001+01:002014-08-24T11:30:05.626+01:00We drove to Walt Disney World<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.dadsguidetowdw.com/image-files/walt-disney-world-secrets-entrance.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.dadsguidetowdw.com/image-files/walt-disney-world-secrets-entrance.jpg" height="218" width="320" /></a></div><br />We drove down to Disney World this month - that's nearly 2,000 miles of driving that my wife did (I don't drive). We took the 95 almost all the way and in nearly 2,000 miles I never saw a single motorist obeying the speed limit except in traffic jams or exiting the freeway. In all that time (24 hours of driving), I saw only one motorist getting a ticket. We even got honked at a few times, because we weren't going fast enough for the driver behind.<br /><br />On a related note, this month we also had a karmic moment, when a motorist overtook my wife's car unsafely, forcing her to jam on the brakes. About a mile later, we saw this same car pulled to the side of the road behind another car - apparently the idiot had rear-ended someone. <br /><br />And motorists say cyclists are the scofflaws!Ian Brett Cooperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11144195897514392433noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5353875138735331560.post-37008804499814694712014-08-22T01:05:00.001+01:002014-08-24T11:41:37.021+01:00Degenerative Disc Disease<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2010/08/23/article-0-0AE49461000005DC-526_233x324.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2010/08/23/article-0-0AE49461000005DC-526_233x324.jpg" height="320" width="230" /></a></div><br />Whoa! It's been a long time between posts. But now I finally have something to write about.<br /><br />I have degenerative Disc Disease - kind of an invisible illness. I've had it for about 15 years and unfortunately, I'm one of the few who has chronic pain because of it. I'm not on disability - not sure I could even qualify for a disabled parking sticker - haven't even tried to get one (I don't drive anyway).<br /><br />As regular readers know, I'm a commuter cyclist and I'm very lucky that I have no pain while riding - it's the only time I'm (thus far) guaranteed to have no pain at all. So I'm often seen riding around my neighborhood like a totally fit athletic person, which I am while I'm on the bike - I can cycle for 60 miles or more, no problem. But recently my illness has become worse - another disc gone kaput - still no problems cycling, but if I walk more than a couple of blocks, I need a walking stick; if I walk for an hour or so, I need a back brace, and if I'm out for more than an couple of hours, I need a wheelchair. I avoided even considering a wheelchair until my wife suggested I use one while we were at Disneyworld (they rent them out for $10 per day - pretty good deal, so I went for it), and afterwards I was convinced, because it made it possible to join in all-day family activities that I had subconsciously canceled from my routine.<br /><br />So I just bought a wheelchair for the first time today, yay! But I'm a bit worried about what friends and neighbors are going to think of a person who's out and about on a bike 5 days a week, but who occasionally uses a wheelchair. When I rented a wheelchair I was even kinda embarrassed to get out of it and stand up or walk around for fear of being labeled a disability scammer or a joyrider. There's a lot of ignorance out there about disability - for so many people it seems like there are only a few kinds of health states - amputee, paraplegic, quadriplegic and perfectly healthy. If you don't fit into the first three categories, because your illness is invisible, that means you're fine. It's nuts, but I'm anticipating puzzled looks and perhaps even questions.<br /><br />Anyway, just thought I'd share. Does anyone have any thoughts? Any similar experiences or friends with similar issues? Ian Brett Cooperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11144195897514392433noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5353875138735331560.post-2231422226119490372014-01-28T13:35:00.002+00:002014-09-04T19:12:57.725+01:00Motorists' Sense of Entitlement<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.visualphotos.com/photo/1x3747057/road_rage_road_rage_angry_motorist_gesturing_at_e00592.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.visualphotos.com/photo/1x3747057/road_rage_road_rage_angry_motorist_gesturing_at_e00592.jpg" height="229" width="320" /></a></div><br />Yup. It's that time again. Time for the perennial patent pending Desegregated Cyclist anti-motorist rant.<br /><br />Speaking as a person who has received training as a cycling safety instructor, speaking as a person who knows the laws and rules of the road and puts them into practice every day without fail, and speaking as a person who has been commuting by bike for over 30 years, I have to say it's getting ridiculous for cyclists out on the road these days. Motorists seem to be getting far worse - I estimate 90% or more don't have a clue as to their responsibilities or even the rules of the road (and they talk about "scofflaw cyclists" as if motorists never speed, never talk on the cellphone while driving, never drink, never run red lights or stop signs, etc., etc., etc.). With that overwhelming ignorance comes a sense of entitlement a mile wide and an arrogance that often seems to lead to violence.<br /><br />I find 90% of motorists to be disgusting and frightening (by which I do NOT mean they frighten me by honking or buzzing me - I mean that they don't practice the rules of the road because they don't know them, nor do they care to know them, which means they pose a real danger to cyclists on the road). That's something I would never have thought 20 years ago, but today's motorists appear to be a different breed: they seem to have no consideration for other road users, and they seem to act as if the road is their private property rather than a facility that exists for everyone to use, no matter what vehicle they choose to use on it.<br /><br />The problem, I think, is that there is nowhere near the same respect for cycling that there was 30 years ago. Today's motorists don't have a grounding in cycling culture - many did not commute to school by bike when they were kids and many now view bicycles as mere toys rather than transportation, so they view cyclists as errant children rather than equals on the road. The prevailing attitude is that cyclists are joyriders, whereas the reality is that we are engaged in the very same commuter activities as motorists. The only difference is that when cyclists disobey the rules, they aren't driving a 2-ton chunk of metal that can easily kill. That difference is why motorists should be held to a higher standard. I think the fact that they are, all too often, NOT held to a higher standard is shameful.Ian Brett Cooperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11144195897514392433noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5353875138735331560.post-84047382987849984082014-01-19T01:06:00.000+00:002014-01-19T01:06:28.611+00:00Yay! I'm No Longer a Lardass!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-kMvaleh0kdM/TqTL7gUceuI/AAAAAAAABUo/D-g2M0fPjuo/s1600/fat-man.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-kMvaleh0kdM/TqTL7gUceuI/AAAAAAAABUo/D-g2M0fPjuo/s1600/fat-man.jpg" /></a></div><br />Okay, so maybe I wasn't quite that big, but I was bigger than I liked.<br /><br />So I finally got motivated enough to do something about the extra 25 to 50 extra pounds I've been carrying around for the past 15 years. Around October 15, I weighed myself and found that I was at my lowest weight in 15 years, but at 180 lbs I was still 25 pounds from my optimum BMI. So I looked online for a website that could help me dump that last 25, and I found it at <a href="http://caloriecount.com/">caloriecount.com</a>.<br /><br />I started my diet on October 21st. I knew nothing about dieting, so at first I cut back my calories way too much, but the website helped me to figure out how to lose weight in a healthy and effective way. After a week, I was getting all my proper nutrients and losing weight at a good (but not too extreme) 2 pounds per week. I managed to get through Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year with only minor alcohol-fueled setbacks (yay!) and thanks to caloriecount.com, lashings of motivation and self-control and a healthy amount of cycle commuting, after 12 weeks I reached my goal weight of 155 pounds on 12 January 2014.<br /><br />Woohoo!<br /><br />Now I fit into trousers of a size I haven't fit into since the 1980s - okay, there's a downside - I had to buy new trousers of a size I haven't fit into since the 1980s. Still, it feels freaking great and now I even notice that cycling uphill is much easier without the spare tire I was dragging around.Ian Brett Cooperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11144195897514392433noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5353875138735331560.post-9905303409995707562014-01-16T12:00:00.001+00:002014-01-16T12:26:37.740+00:00A True Cyclist Makes Excuses To Cycle, While Wannabe Cyclists Make Excuses Not To.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://suwaneedental.com/travel/Vancouver/old%20rusty%20bike.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://suwaneedental.com/travel/Vancouver/old%20rusty%20bike.jpg" height="212" width="320" /></a></div><br />Recently, I've been going through a bit of a tough time getting myself out on the bike. In the weeks before Christmas I had a lot of safety issues with motorists honking. I decided to address each one by stopping the bike and (with a smile on my face) asking what the problem was, in order to address the issue and maybe educate them a bit in a non-threatening way. This did not work at all - no one listened, no one wanted the little flyer I offered them, and one guy - a nice West Indian guy - started honking every single time he drove up behind me, just to say hi!<br /><br />Also, for some reason, being friendly towards motorists seems to make me more nervous for some reason. It may be because I'm an introvert by nature, so the anticipation of one-on-one interactions with motorists adds a lot of stress. This asocial aspect of my personality is why I chose not to become a League Certified Instructor when I took the LCI course in 2010: I'm just not cut-out for interaction with humans.<br /><br />So I, being the way I am, became a bit of a nervous wreck. I am not off the bike altogether: I have to take my daughter to school, and cycling is the best way, and even on days when my daughter gets a car or bus ride to school, I'm still cycling two miles to pick her up. But I am trying to cut back as much as possible and getting my wife to take my daughter to school on days when she can, to give myself a bit of a rest - maybe until Spring Break. I just need a breather.<br /><br />One of the problems is that I'm going against one of my maxims, which says, "A true cyclist makes excuses to cycle, while wannabe cyclists make excuses not to."<br /><br />I fear falling into the "wannabe cyclist" category.<br /><br />So does anyone have any advice, stories, tips?Ian Brett Cooperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11144195897514392433noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5353875138735331560.post-15807665025584283852014-01-12T10:30:00.002+00:002014-01-12T10:30:09.885+00:00I couldn't have put it better myself...<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://seattletimes.com/ABPub/2014/01/10/2022643311.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://seattletimes.com/ABPub/2014/01/10/2022643311.jpg" height="320" width="245" /></a></div><br />...so I'll just post the link:<br /><br /><a href="http://seattletimes.com/html/opinion/2022643308_joesullivanopedcycling11xml.html">http://seattletimes.com/html/opinion/2022643308_joesullivanopedcycling11xml.html</a><br /><br /><br />Ian Brett Cooperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11144195897514392433noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5353875138735331560.post-70298122840697891862014-01-03T10:50:00.003+00:002014-01-03T15:14:02.341+00:00Cletus Asks Cyclists #6<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://fc07.deviantart.net/fs71/f/2011/152/5/4/cletus__the_slack_jawed_yokel_by_leeroberts-d3ht7iq.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://fc07.deviantart.net/fs71/f/2011/152/5/4/cletus__the_slack_jawed_yokel_by_leeroberts-d3ht7iq.png" width="293" /></a></div><div class="subject"><span style="font-weight: normal;"></span></div><blockquote class="tr_bq"><div class="subject"><h2><span style="color: #0b5394;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><b>What is your opinion of road cyclists?</b></span></span></h2></div><div class="subject"><span style="color: #0b5394;"></span></div><div class="subject"><span style="color: #0b5394;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"></span></span> <a href="http://ca.answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=AmNSsL2qlwtrrjV43altps3e64lQ;_ylv=3?qid=20140102210541AAN7mmT">http://ca.answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=AmNSsL2qlwtrrjV43altps3e64lQ;_ylv=3?qid=20140102210541AAN7mmT</a></div></blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq"><div class="subject"><span style="color: #0b5394;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">i understand people do it as an exercise and a hobby, but many of them do not "share the road" like they are supposed to. it is very dangerous honestly.</span></span></div><div class="subject"></div><span style="color: #0b5394;">...the ones in my area (a farm area) ride in the middle of the lanes and the cars have to slow down to 20 mph until the cyclists get out of the way. sometimes you have to beep because they are that stubborn.</span></blockquote><br />My response. I must admit I lost my temper a bit with this moron:<br /><br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">What, do you really think that cyclists are just out there exercising and joyriding? I've been cycling for over 40 years and I've never done it "as an exercise and a hobby". I need to get to work, I need to get my daughter to school and I need to go grocery shopping, and the bicycle gets me all those places far more cheaply than a car ever could. A bicycle is a form of transportation. I mean, what sort of an idiot cannot see that a bike is a vehicle used for necessary commuting? Besides, even if it were not, why would that give cyclists any less right to use the road. The fact that you choose to drive a car does not give you special entitlement to the road. The road is for everyone to use as they see fit.<br /><br />Cyclists are not supposed to move over so that you can squeeze by. "Share the road" doesn't mean that cyclists should move over. It means that motorists should stop bullying cyclists by passing too close. The phrase was supposed to be a slogan urging motorists to know their responsibilities to cyclists! Clearly it hasn't worked, because motorists, with their sense of entitlement, have skewed it to suit their bigoted worldview.<br /><br />Cyclists are SUPPOSED to ride in the middle of the lane - that's where they are safest because that's where they are most visible. You are supposed to change lanes to pass. You are required BY LAW to slow down until it's safe to pass slow-moving vehicles. There is no right to any speed on the road - your speed is limited by the vehicle in front of you, to which you MUST YIELD until it's safe to pass. I mean, this is the very basis of road law.<br /><br />Don't you people ever read your driver's manuals? I mean, jeez!<br /><br />Go back to driving school. How do folks like you even pass your driving test? </blockquote>Ian Brett Cooperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11144195897514392433noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5353875138735331560.post-48146748443934217582013-12-03T20:54:00.001+00:002013-12-03T20:54:40.905+00:00The "anti-unsafe-pass wobble"<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://exchange.aaa.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/ShareRoadMain.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="132" src="http://exchange.aaa.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/ShareRoadMain.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />That's what I call it anyway. Not something I like to do every day.<br /><br />Today, cycling with my daughter in front of me (in much the same situation as is shown in the image above), a car was approaching and pretty clearly moving to overtake, but way too closely even though there was an open lane to the left. In a situation like this, controlling the lane doesn't do the trick - he's hell-bent on leaving us a few inches. Sure, if he does it, I have room to move right, but I don't want him to make me do that, and my daughter may not have seen him.<br /><br />So before he gets too close I do a quick 2ft jink left - just enough to make him think twice. I've found that if I do this, motorists either give me a lot more room or they slow down and stay behind me. Today, the latter is what happened.<br /><br />Not sure if it's accepted procedure among the vehicular cycling cognoscenti, but I find it works and is safer than letting them pass too closely.Ian Brett Cooperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11144195897514392433noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5353875138735331560.post-87939057516774363032013-11-19T12:06:00.000+00:002013-11-19T12:34:08.890+00:00Cletus Asks Cyclists #5<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://fc07.deviantart.net/fs71/f/2011/152/5/4/cletus__the_slack_jawed_yokel_by_leeroberts-d3ht7iq.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://fc07.deviantart.net/fs71/f/2011/152/5/4/cletus__the_slack_jawed_yokel_by_leeroberts-d3ht7iq.png" width="293" /></a></div><br /><a href="http://ca.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20131118120053AAs2y6B">http://ca.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20131118120053AAs2y6B</a><br /><br /><blockquote class="tr_bq"><h2><span style="color: #0b5394;"><b>"Another cyclist dead in London, when will these cyclists learn to obey the law and rules on the road?"</b></span></h2></blockquote><br />My response (note that the question was asked in the UK, so I've used British rather than US spelling):<br /><br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">Thanks for the opportunity to shed some light on this issue. Troll posts like this reflect common prejudices and ignorance, so I think it's actually a good thing when such posts are made, as they help us to educate those who hold these common prejudices and false beliefs.<br /><br />Cyclists obey the law with about the same frequency that motorists do. The difference is, scofflaw cyclists are not driving a 2-ton chunk of metal incompetently at speeds of over 30mph. Studies show that scofflaw cycling is not the primary cause of collisions - distracted and incompetent driving is. According to a 2009 UK Department for Transport report, "‘Failed to look properly’ was attributed to the car drivers in 57% of serious collisions." (see first link below). This is not only the case in the UK: according to a report of bicycle collisions in New York City, "Traffic-law violations by motorists are the main cause of fatal bicyclist accidents in New York City." (see second link below).<br /><br />Most cyclists killed on the roads are killed while they are cycling perfectly legally. In fact, the mistakes cyclists make that get them killed are usually made because the cyclists are trying to stay out of motorists' way. If cyclists would take control of the lane rather than riding close to the kerb or avoiding the road entirely and cycling on the footpath or in a bike lane or path (where they are less visible to other road users), they would be seen more easily and thereby avoid being hit by distracted drivers.<br /><br />Unfortunately, the vehicular cycling strategies that help cyclists ride more safely and avoid collisions on the road are not taught in the world of populist cycling advocacy, and are in fact derided by many cyclists, who ironically (and suicidally) believe that staying out of the way of cars is safer than asserting their right to the road and riding more visibly.<br /><br />Right now, cycling advocacy seems to be focused on bike lanes and getting more bums on saddles. Safety comes a distant 3rd to these issues. Unfortunately, I fear many more cyclists will need to die before cycling safety becomes a true priority in the populist cycling movement.</blockquote><br />Sources:<br /><br /><a href="http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&amp;rct=j&amp;q=&amp;esrc=s&amp;source=web&amp;cd=1&amp;ved=0CC4QFjAA&amp;url=http%3A%2F%2Fwebarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk%2F20090417002224%2Fhttp%3A%2Fwww.dft.gov.uk%2Fpgr%2Froadsafety%2Fresearch%2Frsrr%2Ftheme1%2Fppr445.pdf&amp;ei=4FaLUsOsG_Wz4AP3qYDIAw&amp;usg=AFQjCNHf-jTVDJTW27GKJLpUQFW5g_G2JQ&amp;sig2=VKgVIEQvNNBNAg-4zwCoaQ&amp;bvm=bv.56643336,d.dmg&amp;cad=rja">&nbsp;Collisions Involving Cyclists on Britain’s Roads: Establishing the Causes</a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&amp;rct=j&amp;q=&amp;esrc=s&amp;source=web&amp;cd=1&amp;ved=0CC4QFjAA&amp;url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.rightofway.org%2Fresearch%2Fcyclists.pdf&amp;ei=zlWLUvjqIOv84APr0ICQDQ&amp;usg=AFQjCNHaHbPl1L0hy81uQdRUwYEjTfmU4A&amp;sig2=jSibjxGx7SHaTneUSsQFcQ&amp;bvm=bv.56643336,d.dmg&amp;cad=rja">THE ONLY GOOD CYCLIST: NYC Bicycle Fatalities —Who’s Responsible?</a><br /><br /><br />Ian Brett Cooperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11144195897514392433noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5353875138735331560.post-34393143677165728622013-11-17T15:26:00.002+00:002013-11-17T20:59:26.630+00:00Levi's "Commuter" Jeans Review<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.mountainbiketales.com/images/levis_0611_4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="299" src="http://www.mountainbiketales.com/images/levis_0611_4.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />Recently, Levi's came out with a pattern of jeans specifically made for commuter cycling. The <a href="http://us.levi.com/family/index.jsp?categoryId=11844101&amp;cp=3146842.4305630&amp;ab=leftnav:men:bystyle:511%99skinnyjean:menfeatures:commuterseries:11844101">"commuter"</a> has the following attributes:<br /><br />3M Scotchlite reflective fabric tape on cuffs for increased visibility in the dark.<br />NanoSphere treatment for water- and dirt-resistance.<br />Sanitized tech, an anti-microbial coating, for protection against odor.<br />A raised back for increased butt coverage.<br />A reinforced crotch.<br />Double layered back pockets.<br />A U-lock storage system.<br />Hidden cellphone pocket.<br /><br />I've been toying with buying a pair of these "commuter" jeans, but the review at <a href="http://www.bikehacks.com/bikehacks/2011/10/levis-511-commuter-review-for-bikehackscom.html">Bikehacks.com</a> started to give me second thoughts. When I looked at the product critically, I have a few more issues to add into the mix.<br /><br />The raised back is, in my view, a good feature. It's there for the same reason motorcycle jackets and pants have increased coverage at the back - in both motorcycling and cycling, the riding position is one in which we're bent over, so we are more exposed in that area without it.<br /><br />The reinforced crotch is also there for obvious reasons of increased wear and tear. Not sure about the reinforced back pockets or the hidden cellphone pocket, but as I see it, they don't detract from the product, so why not.<br /><br />But in terms of the other features, I have no idea what kind of cyclists Levi's spoke with in the planning stages of this product, but in my view, Levi's should have consulted more all-weather commuter cyclists. Then they might have learned a lot more about the realities and the requirements of cyclists. For example:<br /><br />1. Why did they choose to avoid wool?. I'm a big advocate for wool for cycling (I think with good reason), and as I see it, making the jeans from a nice comfort-oriented Merino wool blend would remove the requirement for both the water-repellant and the anti-microbial coatings, because wool retains its warmth and comfort even when wet AND the lanolin in the fibers repels water, resists microbes and prevents smell. Also, wool naturally breathes well and moderates temperature in both hot and cold conditions. Levi's have been <a href="http://us.levi.com/product/index.jsp?productId=21757536&amp;kwCatId=&amp;kw=wool+jeans&amp;origkw=wool+jeans&amp;sr=1">experimenting with wool jeans</a>, so it's a little frustrating that they haven't seen the possibilities of wool in terms of cycling.<br /><br />2. Levi's should have kept the leg opening the same as regular 511s. Unfortunately, because Levi's widened the leg opening from the standard 511 width of 14 1/2 inches to an opening of 16 inches, it forces cyclists who wear these jeans to either use bike clips or roll up the jeans above the level of the chainring. If the leg opening was a proper 511 width of 14 1/2", neither of these would be necessary. I wear regular 511s to commute on my bike and in my experience, you simply don't need to roll them up: because they hug the calf, they stay about an inch away from my chainring. I don't know why Levi's made the decision to widen the leg openings on these jeans from the regular 511 size - it seems to me to ruin the biggest advantage of 511s when cycling - i.e. not needing to roll them up above the level of the chainring.<br /><br />3. If Levis are going to include a bike lock attachment feature, I think it should be easily accessible, either on the thigh or on the side. Placing it on the back makes it difficult to access. I dunno - I just think there ought to be a better place for it.<br /><br />As things stand, the only reason I might be tempted to buy these jeans is for the higher rise in the rear of the jeans. This is not enough for me, given the drawbacks of poor design elsewhere and the high price. Hopefully, someone influential at Levi's will see the negative reviews and institute changes, because with a few tweaks these could become a good product that every cyclist might benefit from owning.Ian Brett Cooperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11144195897514392433noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5353875138735331560.post-7212478423740530682013-11-13T14:53:00.002+00:002013-11-13T14:53:56.497+00:00What does 'practicable' mean?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://bicyclingmatters.files.wordpress.com/2011/12/yehuda-moon-afrap1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="110" src="http://bicyclingmatters.files.wordpress.com/2011/12/yehuda-moon-afrap1.png" width="320" /></a></div><br />Unfortunately for cyclists, it means different things to different people, and the folks who decide in courts what it means are usually not cyclists. This is, in my view, why we need to remove such weasel words from the law books and allow cyclists to choose a lane position that the CYCLIST HIMSELF - and no one else - judges to be safe. In other words, allow the cyclist the same lane position rights that every other road user enjoys.Ian Brett Cooperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11144195897514392433noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5353875138735331560.post-3053823507776514752013-11-10T13:17:00.001+00:002013-11-14T12:17:25.078+00:00Remembrance Sunday<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/dd/Cheering_wiltshires_1918_005.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="181" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/dd/Cheering_wiltshires_1918_005.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;"></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />Today is Remembrance Sunday in the UK and in the Commonwealth. On this day, I like to spend a little while thinking about members of my family who died in the wars of the 20th Century. Today, I'd like to remember my 1st cousin twice removed Nicholas Surtees.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Nicholas Surtees was the son of Nicholas and Catherine (nee Harkes) Surtees. He was born in South Hylton, County Durham, England in September 1890. His father worked in a shipyard as a caulker. By 1911, Nicholas had joined his father as a ship caulker.<br /><br /><br /><b>The Great War</b><br /><br />After the Great War began, Nicholas Surtees was probably conscripted under the Military Service Act, sometime after March 1916.<br /><br />In June, Nicholas married Eliza Priscilla Thaxter. Their son, also called Nicholas, was born the following August. At this time, the family was living in a row house at 9 Rosalie Terrace, Hendon, a suburb of Sunderland.<br /><br />Nicholas was called up and initially trained with the Northumberland Fusiliers with the Service Number 5/40387. However, he was sent to France in November 1917 as a Private in the 2nd Battalion, King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry with the Service Number 35815. At some point Nicholas was moved on to the 9th (Service) Battalion and then, in the summer of 1918, to the 1st Battalion.<br /><br />From 15 July 1918 Nicholas' battalion was attached to151st Brigade, 50th (Northumbrian) Division. This division was being reconstituted after the battles of the spring and summer. It took the field in October and took part in the final advance in Picardy.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />German resistance was falling away. Unprecedented numbers of prisoners were taken in the Battle of the Selle, and a new attack was quickly prepared. The French First Army and the British First, Third, and Fourth Armies were tasked with advancing from south of the Condé Canal along a thirty-mile front towards Maubeuge-Mons, threatening Namur. Together with the American forces breaking out of the forests of Argonne, this would, if successful, disrupt the German efforts to reform a shortened defensive line along the Meuse.<b>&nbsp;</b><br /><br /><br /><b>Battle of the Sambre</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />At dawn on November 4, 17 British and 11 French divisions headed the attack. The Tank Corps, its resources badly stretched, could provide only 37 tanks for support.<br /><br />Despite heavy casualties, the battle objectives were reached on the 4th or the following day. The successful attacks resulted in a bridgehead almost fifty miles long being made, to a depth of two to three miles deep.<br /><br />The 1st battalion, King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry war diary for 4 November describes the day as follows:<br /><br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">Bousies: 05.15. Battalion “stood to”.<br /><br />07.45: marched to a point in the neighbourhood of Fontaine-au-Bois.<br /><br />10.30: the battalion was ordered to pass through the 150th Infantry Brigade who had attained their objective in the Foret de Mormal. The battalion moved by the Route de Fontaine through the forest, meeting a considerable amount of opposition from enemy machine gun fire. The enemy retired in front of the battalion until dark to a post in the vicinity of Rue du Pont Routier have dug in for the night.</blockquote><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"></div><div style="text-align: left;">Nicholas Surtees was killed on this day in the same battle and on the same day as Wilfred Owen, just a week before the Armistice was signed, Nicholas's body was never found. He is commemorated on panel 8 of the Vis en Artois Memorial to the Missing.<br /><br />From this point, the northern Allies advanced relentlessly, sometimes more than five miles a day, until the Armistice Line of November 11.<br /><br />A War Office telegram would have advised the family that Nicholas was missing, soon after the event.<b>&nbsp;</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /><br /><b>Post-War</b><br /><br />Nicholas’ medals would have been sent to his family after the war. The next of kin would also have been sent an illuminated scroll and bronze plaque (the “death penny”) after the war.<br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.northeastmedals.co.uk/britishguide/great_war_ww1_memorial_death_plaque.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="307" src="http://www.northeastmedals.co.uk/britishguide/great_war_ww1_memorial_death_plaque.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: left;"></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />Nicholas Surtees' remains are likely to remain to this day in the Foret de Mormal although it is possible that he lies in one of the military cemeteries in the area, marked only as an unknown soldier.<br /><br /><br /><b>Campaign Medals</b><br /><br />Nicholas Surtees was awarded the British War Medal and the Victory Medal.&nbsp; Inscribed on his medals should be the following:<br /><br />35815 PTE.N.SURTEES. K.O.Y.L.I.<br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.mycollectors.co.uk/StockPhotos/Medals/Singles-Extras/WW1-War-Victory-Pair.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.mycollectors.co.uk/StockPhotos/Medals/Singles-Extras/WW1-War-Victory-Pair.jpg" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:&nbsp;</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.&nbsp;</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>At the going down of the sun and in the morning,&nbsp;</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>We will remember them.</b><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://representingthemambo.files.wordpress.com/2011/11/poppy_1512923c.jpg?w=535" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="199" src="http://representingthemambo.files.wordpress.com/2011/11/poppy_1512923c.jpg?w=535" width="320" /></a></div></div>Ian Brett Cooperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11144195897514392433noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5353875138735331560.post-81285535906429647022013-10-25T14:17:00.002+01:002013-10-26T11:58:47.588+01:00Cletus Asks Cyclists #4<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://fc07.deviantart.net/fs71/f/2011/152/5/4/cletus__the_slack_jawed_yokel_by_leeroberts-d3ht7iq.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://fc07.deviantart.net/fs71/f/2011/152/5/4/cletus__the_slack_jawed_yokel_by_leeroberts-d3ht7iq.png" width="293" /></a></div><div class="content"></div><div class="content"><br /><blockquote class="tr_bq"><h1 class="subject"><span style="color: #0b5394;">Why are bicyclists so selfish?</span></h1><div class="content"><span style="color: #0b5394;">Not everyone who bicycles is this selfish, but some are and really need to read this!</span><span style="color: #0b5394;"><br />I live on a two lane highway with no shoulder AT ALL yet people come from all over to ride on it because it's a beautiful, scenic place. I have numerous times had to put my truck in the ditch because a logging truck was in the other lane and the bicyclist was just pedalling away in the middle of my lane. Bicyclists should ride responsively! It just plain rude and dangerous to ride on this kind of road- dangerous for drivers' as well as the bicycle. Parents: please teach kids to only ride on roads that are appropriate and safe for bicycle traffic.</span></div><div class="content"></div><div class="content"><span style="color: #0b5394;">I'm more than inconvenienced by this- I'm frightened. At the least, I will have expensive repair bills for my truck by flying into ditches. People have already been killed. I'm worried a child will be riding on a bad stretch (in a lot of places, it's big river on one side and steep mountain on the other) and will be killed because a driver can't get out of their way. This is a 70mph road with a lot of big trucks heavily loaded who cannot stop quickly.</span></div></blockquote><br />My response:<br /><br />You have "had to put your truck in the ditch because a logging truck was in the other lane and the bicyclist was just pedalling away in the middle of 'your' lane"?<br /><br />How about instead of acting stupidly, you SLOW DOWN!<br /><br />The lane is not 'yours'. It's every road user's - including cyclists'. Ownership of the road does not depend on the type of vehicle you choose to use on it. When a cyclist is in front of you, it's technically 'his' lane, by the rule of priority. Didn't you learn this in Driver's Ed before you got your license? You are required by law to slow until it's SAFE to overtake. Attempting to overtake while a logging truck is in the oncoming lane is not safe.<br /><br />Cyclists use the whole lane when it's not wide enough to share - precisely so that impatient motorists are prevented from overtaking. This is for the cyclist's protection.<br /><br />The speed limit of the road is irrelevant: if cyclists are allowed on it, they have every right to take measures to increase their safety - one of these is taking a central position in the lane - this makes the cyclist as visible as possible to other road users and prevents unsafe passes. Besides, the speed limit is an upper limit, not a target speed. Speeds are limited by the vehicle in front - another thing you should have learned in Driver's Ed.<br /><br />For your sake (and for the sake of all the road users who might be unfortunate enough to be using the road around you), read and commit to memory your Driver's Handbook. The rules are in there. It's not rocket science.<br /><br />By the way, if trucks cannot stop quickly, they should modify their speed so that they are following the vehicle in front at a safe distance so that they have room to stop in an emergency - this is a legal requirement.<br /><br /></div><div class="content"></div><div class="content">The post and all the responses, good and bad, were at <a href="http://ca.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20131024150656AAbCDor">Yahoo Answers</a> but as is often the case with questions like this, it was deleted, presumably by the person who posted it. I'm guessing this happens because the questioner either is getting too many answers he doesn't like, or (less likely) he realizes his question/rant makes him look ignorant.</div><div class="content"></div>Ian Brett Cooperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11144195897514392433noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5353875138735331560.post-12073445586589907492013-10-22T14:26:00.003+01:002013-10-22T14:39:11.135+01:00Thought for the Day<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_jiAASL3cCek/TAyOLUWzLhI/AAAAAAAAAJY/VpgpLRK4y28/s1600/out+of+order.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_jiAASL3cCek/TAyOLUWzLhI/AAAAAAAAAJY/VpgpLRK4y28/s320/out+of+order.jpg" width="268" /></a></div><br /><i><b>Motorists: just do what's expected of you, A.K.A. "Don't fuck around".</b></i><br /><br />Today as I was riding home, a car pulls out of a driveway to my front left and backs out towards me. Nothing wrong with that - perfectly normal. I'm 100 yards away and the driver has plenty of space to complete his/her turn. There are no other vehicles or pedestrians around. I ride up behind, slow down and wait for the driver to complete the maneuver.<br /><br />Then the driver sees me and, presumably, panics.<br /><br />Instead of just completing the turn and going forward, he or she pulls into the oncoming traffic lane and just stops. All that was needed was for him or her to apply gasoline and go, but no. Now I'm presented with a situation that is not a part of normal road usage. Do I stop and wait? Do I overtake on the right - moving into the blind spot of a car whose owner clearly wants to move forward into my lane? Maybe this bozo is on a cellphone, in which case anything could happen.<br /><br />Eventually, I rode past, very carefully on his/her right, and sure enough, the motorist pulls into the lane behind me. The motorist was waiting for me, because as every motorist knows, acting stupid out of some panicked sense of courtesy is precisely what a cyclist wants to see motorists do.<br /><br />If I stop for you, I'm fricken waiting for you to go. I am not waiting for you to stop to let me go.<br /><br />Trust me, motorists, I already think you're incompetent. You don't need to prove it to me every single day. Give some days a miss, okay?<br /><br />I mean, am I crazy, or should the road be simpler than this? Ian Brett Cooperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11144195897514392433noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5353875138735331560.post-60534703425667698882013-10-12T03:02:00.001+01:002013-10-12T03:02:53.291+01:00Who's Crazy?Although we were called 'crazy' yesterday for cycling in the rain, my daughter had an absolute blast cycling home in the torrential rain this afternoon. At the first crack of thunder, she yelled 'Woo-hoo!' at the prospect of cycling in a thunderstorm (but that one rumble was all we got). Cycling through what she called 'flash floods' (3-4 inch deep rivers of rainwater), and past what she called 'waterfalls' at every storm drain made her day. She turned our neighborhood streets into an imaginary rainforest.<br /><br />Yeah, every bit of us that wasn't covered with a rain cape got soaked. But we<br />had an adventure.<br /><br />And most cyclists actually avoid cycling in 'bad' weather. That's what I call<br />crazy.<br />Ian Brett Cooperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11144195897514392433noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5353875138735331560.post-25938559279409395192013-10-10T15:04:00.000+01:002013-10-10T15:11:49.875+01:00Chuckin' it dahn<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3037/2317565036_21f824010e_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="211" src="http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3037/2317565036_21f824010e_o.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />On this morning's commute to my daughter's school one of the other parents called us crazy for cycling in this weather - it was, as we Yorkshire folk say, "chuckin' it dahn" (raining really hard). Still is, actually. Probably will be for the rest of the week and next week too according to the forecast. And I'll be out there actually experiencing it every day, unlike 99.9% of the folks around me, who are apparently afraid to get a bit wet. Why? Because when I get an excuse to experience real actual life on this Earth, rather than sitting in the dead, dull, sterile and uninspiring air conditioned environment that we've built everywhere for ourselves, I take it.<br /><br />I wish I'd had the presence of mind to tell the parent who called us crazy that I thought she and all the other parents are crazy for NOT cycling to school. Life is for living - it should be an adventure, and adventures sometimes involve doing stuff that isn't all that comfortable. There's weather out there in all its glory, and it's at its best when it's experienced at first-hand, with (at most) a rain cape, not through a car windscreen.<br /><br />Not that I don't like comfort - I do - too much. And so does pretty much everyone else. But unlike most folks I realized that our desire for comfort is not all that healthy. So I denied myself one comfort - just one - the automobile. Never learned to drive, never will, because occasionally we need to live life rather than sleep through it.Ian Brett Cooperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11144195897514392433noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5353875138735331560.post-16803555645002171382013-10-08T13:59:00.001+01:002013-10-08T14:14:54.693+01:00Thought for the Day.Motorists, if I'm traveling at 25mph on a road with a 25mph speed limit, you don't 'have' to overtake me. You'll arrive at a road with a higher speed limit soon enough. Then you'll be able to overtake me without looking like a total wanker.<br /><br />But if you do decide to overtake me, for goodness sake COMMIT! Don't pussyfoot around wondering if you should accelerate while you drive next to me in the oncoming traffic lane for ten seconds. Call me crazy, but I've heard that the oncoming traffic lane can contain oncoming traffic.Ian Brett Cooperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11144195897514392433noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5353875138735331560.post-61498966948550098002013-09-24T16:40:00.000+01:002013-09-28T20:09:33.601+01:00GTA V, Cycling and Ethics.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://img208.imageshack.us/img208/1640/hudj.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="184" src="http://img208.imageshack.us/img208/1640/hudj.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br />As an avid gamer, I went out and bought GTA V the day it appeared on game store shelves. In my opinion, this is the best of the series so far - and it features cycling (yay!), so I have an excuse to do a blog post about it. So let's get the cycling bit out of the way before moving on to the more juicy stuff.<br /><br />For those of us who might want to see how far the game can be pushed into being a cycling simulation, the game suffers from the same major problem that the game's cars suffer from - twitchy steering. It takes a while to get used to. Also, there are no gears, but it's not really a problem - going up hills is just slower. Riding itself, which involves pressing a single button over and over again like a maniac (to simulate pedaling) can get tiring.<br /><br />In terms of bikes, you get the choice of a couple of variations on mountain bikes, a few racing bikes, or a cruiser. So far I haven't seen a touring bike (shame!) or a BMX. Oh well, you can't have everything.<br /><br />In terms of places to ride, only a few of the game's side missions involve cycling. But there are lots of places to cycle. The game takes place in 'Los Santos' - GTA's version of Los Angeles and the surrounding countryside, so you get cityscapes, mountains and rural areas to cycle in. The mountain biking potential would seem to be a good chance to enjoy cycling in the game - there are a lot of areas that would be fun for the mountain bike enthusiast. The problem is, I'm not sure that there are bikes available at the top of good mountain bike routes - you'd probably have to cycle out to the good places.<br /><br />One area of the game that really does focus on cycling is the triathlon side missions. These are fun and have good replay value - but there are not all that many of them.<br /><br />All-in-all, the game gives us cycling that's just a bit more than an afterthought (and given the fact that there's no other cycling game out there I guess that's pretty good). Cycling can be done in the game, but it's a bit tedious and not all that rewarding. But it can be fun for a while, and hey, at least it's there.<br /><br />I've also been interested to see how the usual videogame blame game develops after the game's release. It is, after all, the latest iteration of the series that is considered by anti-gaming activists 'Public Enemy #1'. So far, the <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&amp;v=7-aCqjCp7hA">standard straw man arguments are appearing</a> - boiled down, they amount to "The ability to murder virtual prostitutes is WROWWWWNNNNGG and will turn 10 year-olds into violent psychopaths". The fact that the game's prostitutes are game code and not real, the fact that the game is rated 'M', meaning that parents are warned that it might not be appropriate for kids, and the fact that real life crime statistics have dropped like a stone since videogaming became a popular form of entertainment, apparently count for nothing.<br /><br />Contrary to the way videogame detractors see these games, I have a bit of a different perspective, in that I've actually played every GTA game since GTA II: Vice City. So I know all about how the game approaches ethical questions, and it's a bit more complex than the critics seem willing to admit.<br /><br />For instance, I think GTA V does a great job of allowing players to experiment with how they would handle certain ethical situations. Sure, players 'can' engage in all sorts of virtual immoral acts, up to and including mass murder. But do they? In my experience seeing people play the answer is most often "No". In my case, what I notice is that even given the ability to kill without consequence in a game where nothing is real, I choose NOT to do so unless severely provoked. I'm NOT going around killing lots of people for fun. In fact, I try to avoid doing so unless someone does me harm. I may drive way too fast, but I'm not purposefully ploughing down pedestrians on the sidewalk. I think many players do the same - acting in ways that would be seen as dangerous in the real world, but not actively trying to do harm to the game's innocent civilians.<br /><br />So I think maybe the game's detractors are looking at this the wrong way - instead of looking at what's possible and criticizing it, they should be looking at what's really happening with players in the game - I think they might be surprised at how often we bring our real life ethics into these games, and at how invincible our personal ethics are when assailed by a virtual world filled with the potential for mayhem in a consequence-free environment.<br /><br />And when we are forced to participate in scenes where our characters do bad things - GTA V's infamous torture scene, for example - the game makes it pretty clear that being unethical is stupid. Even Trevor, the game's complete psycho, understands this and explains at length to the corrupt FIB (FBI) officer who is forcing him to perform the torture. Far from being a game that plumbs the vicious depths of an amoral virtual reality, GTA V has a strong moral core. While you 'can' and sometimes 'must' make your characters do things that are not nice, the game helps players to understand WHY unethical behavior is counter-productive.<br /><br />I have now reached the end of the game. The major characters go through some moral turmoil and the game's finale involves an interesting ethical choice. I'm not going to spoil the ending in case anyone reading this is a gamer, but I was happy to see a game present the player with a lot more than the usual "These are obviously really bad people, now kill them". While the GTA series is often accused of 'Mother Night' syndrome - i.e. blurring the line between satirizing bigotry and engaging in it, the latest version gives players a lot more to think about than the average shooter.Ian Brett Cooperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11144195897514392433noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5353875138735331560.post-9715648771504270192013-09-14T00:40:00.002+01:002013-09-14T12:53:12.334+01:00Should Cyclists Be Licensed?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.ravenfamily.org/sam/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/IPayRoadTaxZeron.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="314" src="http://www.ravenfamily.org/sam/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/IPayRoadTaxZeron.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />As a cycling advocate, I often see the argument made by motorists that cyclists should be licensed, taxed, forced to buy insurance, etc. I try to take this in my stride - motorists see a cyclist using the road and they assume that because motorists are licensed, taxed and insured, fairness demands that cyclists should be too, despite the fact that cyclists rarely kill or cause serious damage to other road users, and despite the fact that cyclists rarely damage other people's property or the road surface.<br /><br />But it kinda irks me when many of my fellow cycling advocates respond with the argument "But most cyclists ARE licensed", as if the whole idea that cyclists should be licensed is a valid argument.<br /><br />I have never owned a driver's license. Should I stay off the road? In arguing that most cyclists have a driver's license, cycling advocates are in effect conceding the point that cyclists should be licensed before they use the road. This is nonsense - everyone has the right to use the road, whether they are licensed, taxed, insured, or not! Roads are a public facility, built for all, not just for an elite few (or even an elite many).<br /><br />People who meet certain requirements have merely the privilege - not the right - of using a motor vehicle on the road. Motorists are licensed and insured because, while operating their vehicles, they have proven over the last century to be routinely deadly to other road users. Motorists cause a million deaths per year worldwide and when there is a collision, a motor vehicle can do lots of damage to property. Mandatory licensing for motorists came into effect in the early 20th Century, not due to a general push to license road users, but due to the mass carnage that motorists - motorists specifically - caused on the road: it was an attempt to prevent deaths by forcing motorists to achieve a very basic level of competence. Clearly, considering that the death toll on the roads has continued to increase decade by decade, it did not work (not that I'd advocate removing the requirement - I'm sure it does some good). <br /><br />Motorists are taxed because their vehicles weigh 2 tons or more and they do an enormous amount of attrition damage to the road surface, resulting in high maintenance costs. Cyclists do very little damage to road surfaces, and the damage they do is covered by their contributions to the general tax fund. <br /><br />If ever cyclists cause even a hundredth of the deaths and damage on the road that motorists cause, maybe that might be the time to discuss licensing, insurance and a higher tax burden. Until then, I believe we cyclists should not concede an inch on this issue while we occupy the moral high ground.Ian Brett Cooperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11144195897514392433noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5353875138735331560.post-52147055253715629452013-09-04T02:53:00.000+01:002013-09-05T13:09:01.827+01:00German National Cycling Plan<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://i.ebayimg.com/t/Bicycle-T-Shirt-Cycling-German-Road-Sign-Blue-Grey-/11/!Bf)FBK!!mk~$(KGrHqYOKjQErzNs)YHmBLCjYOm6ig~~_35.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://i.ebayimg.com/t/Bicycle-T-Shirt-Cycling-German-Road-Sign-Blue-Grey-/11/!Bf)FBK!!mk~$(KGrHqYOKjQErzNs)YHmBLCjYOm6ig~~_35.JPG" /></a></div><br /><br />Carlton Reid, of <a href="http://www.roadswerenotbuiltforcars.com/">Roads Were Not Built for Cars</a> fame, has posted the <a href="http://issuu.com/carltonreid/docs/german_national_cycling_plan_2020?utm_source=2013W36_subscribers&amp;utm_campaign=Digest&amp;utm_medium=email">German National Cycling plan</a>.<br /><br />Interesting read. I've skimmed it so far. Mostly it's a lot of vague promises of improvements. Two things stood out for me:<br /><br />1. As far as I could see, there was no mention whatsoever of the inherent danger of segregated bicycle facilities.<br /><br />2. It seems there are no plans to phase out the mandatory use laws regarding segregated facilities - at least, the document doesn't mention any.<br /><br />So German cyclists are still mired in their government's outdated segregationist thinking, despite the fact that Germans have been well aware of the problems inherent to segregated bicycle facilities for <a href="http://john-s-allen.com/research/berlin_1987/index.html">over 25 years</a>.<br /><br />The German rules of the road are laid out in English at the <a href="http://www.schweinfurt.army.mil/support/safety/bicycles.htm">US Army Schweinfurt's Installation Safety Office website</a>. I find it interesting that they state quite clearly the problems of segregated facilities:<br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">"The mandatory-use requirement is troubling, because it is generally more dangerous to ride on side lanes than in the streets. This is especially true of side lanes on the left side of the street, where the crash risk is nearly twelve times as high." </blockquote>Maybe the US Army could pass that bit of wisdom along to transportation officials in the US. Maybe they could also do a bit of Deutsche-Amerikanische Freundschaft and pass it along to German transportation officials too, because obviously they don't seem to be listening to German cycling groups.<br /><br />In short, same old story: transportation officials clueless or incompetent, and cyclists (usually the novice and fearful ones) pay the price in injuries and deaths.Ian Brett Cooperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11144195897514392433noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5353875138735331560.post-32766041585465429012013-09-01T21:53:00.002+01:002013-09-01T22:01:53.863+01:00The New American DreamThe American Dream, 20th Century style:<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.economaney.com/assets/americandream.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.economaney.com/assets/americandream.jpg" /></a></div><br />The American Dream, 21st Century style:<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://loganblairsmith.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/bike-and-tiny-house.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://loganblairsmith.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/bike-and-tiny-house.jpg" width="277" /></a></div><br />Well, okay, maybe the house doesn't have to be quite that small, but you get the picture.<br /><br />My point is, despite the economic issues that declining energy resources may bring, the future is looking pretty good.<br /><br />This...<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.streetsblog.org/wp-content/uploads/2008/08_11/bikes_peds.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="243" src="http://www.streetsblog.org/wp-content/uploads/2008/08_11/bikes_peds.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />...is coming to your town, and maybe sooner than you might think.<br /><br />And one thing is certain: it looks, smells, sounds, feels and <i><b>IS</b></i> a heck of a lot more attractive than this:<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.earthisland.org/eijournal/summer08/chaos.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="http://www.earthisland.org/eijournal/summer08/chaos.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>Ian Brett Cooperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11144195897514392433noreply@blogger.com1